A
lot of people I've run into recently are "popping"
over to Venice for the Biennale. With all the hype surrounding
the variety at Venice this year,it's easy to forget the quality
of art going on in our home town.
I have run into all the directions and diversions of contemporary
art here in the past couple of weeks and there is enough going
on both within and out of the galleries to satisfy the most
ardent of art viewer - it's peak season right here in Perth.
If you want to catch up with the future of biennale art pop
into Galerie Düsseldorf to see Tom Muller's Stadium.
Muller is an artist making tracks in more ways than one. His
career is certainly taking off and this confidence and exuberance
is reflected in the playfulness of Stadium. But there is also
a burgeoning maturity in his work and this makes for informed
as well as fun viewing. Stadium is a series of tracks which
bears association with the recent Brian McKay show and tells
of a seduction with aluminium and its association with leisure.
In this case, Muller is interested in the universal symbolism
of sport and likewise the global similarities in the buildings
that house it. As such, Muller continues his foray into the
possibilities of a homogenised society with a global outlook.
This time sport is the great form of democracy and stadiums
offer us the architecture of home. His work also attempts
to bring design, architecture and art on to a level playing
field.
Like the compartmental art of Absalon or Andrea Zittel, Muller's
utopian vision in Stadium is played out in the space of universal
design solutions, hence his interest in the commonality of
aluminium.
However, this interest in standardisation is presented in
Stadium with a fair degree of suspicion - Infinity Track illustrates
this straight away. It's a beautifully made piece that dominates
the opposing wall as you enter the door. Perhaps it is a real
belief in the benefits of homogeny but it also reminded me
of a dog chasing its tail.
New Tracks, with its red vinyl cutting on aluminium, is another
visually dominating work and, along with Open Circuit, at
the other end of the gallery, is a highlight.
Muller's Stadium is an ambitious and energetic show by an
artist coming up fast on the outside don't miss it.